Entries are being sought for this year’s Young Highland Chef competition.
Budding cooks aged between 18 and 30 will vie for the title during a cook-off at Burghfield House Hotel in Dornoch on Monday, October 27.
The winner will have the privilege of a week’s work experience at top London restaurant, La Gavroche, which is owned by renowned chef Albert Roux, as well as £500.
Mr Roux will be part of the judging panel for the competition, along with Andrew Fairlie, of Gleneagles Hotel, and Glen Watson, of The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield.
Those wishing to enter should submit a three course menu to organisers by Sunday, August 31. The menus must include langoustine in the starter, beef in the main and apple in the dessert course.
Eight applicants will be selected for the live final.
All finalists will also be given a trophy and certificate, presented by Mr Roux at a champagne reception after the cook-off.
The Burghfield is a training hotel run by North Highland College UHI, which offers a range of courses in hospitality and cookery, including a tourism and hospitality degree.
Mr Roux, who has the Inverlodge Hotel at Lochinver, Sutherland, said: “Another Young Highland Chef competition is upon us. It’s always gratifying to come to the Highlands to judge the young talent who will cook for us at the Burghfield Hotel.
“Seasonal, local, well cooked dishes; these are the main criteria we are looking for and that we are looking forward to tasting in the final in October.”
The winner of Young Highland Chef 2013 was Victoria Edwards, an 18-year-old chef de partie who worked at Bunchrew House Hotel near Inverness.